In one of the rarest rating periods ever, several on the staff could successfully argue for any of the Top 30 choices as a potential number one. While not all classics, they remain the consistent cream of 2009's crop.

Looking for something far off the well-beaten mainstream path? Well, step on over to some savory world and outsider independent cinema. It's here where the risks, the experimentation, and the true art lives.

Certainly, the multi-millionaire boy's club represented here is heavy on the dramatics and light on the more 'amusing' fare. But if you really give this list a meaningful perusal you'll see a few genre and jokester surprises along the way.